Exclusive - Rooney: Old Trafford pitch almost derailed Manchester United title campaign

Wayne Rooney admits the Old Trafford pitch has almost derailed Manchester United’s Premier League title run.

Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson claims he is hopeful that an away fixture, against Fulham on Saturday, will help improve the surface, which was dreadful during the 2-1 win against Southampton on Wednesday.

And Rooney claims a number of the club’s top stars have been bothered by the conditions of the notoriously bad pitch.

“Of course [it’s a worry],” he exclusively told talkSPORT. “You always want a nice surface to play football on and in recent games the pitch hasn’t been good enough.

“It could have cost us, thankfully it hasn’t, but now the groundsman can get it right in the next couple of weeks.

“It will be difficult because of the weather but hopefully it will be good to have that little break and then hopefully come back to a nice pitch.”

The Red Devils striker has been in fine form for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side this season, with a goalscoring record of over one in every two games.

Former Everton star Rooney missed the Christmas period with a knee injury and has returned to the first-team with four goals in his previous four appearances.

But Rooney, who is set to start in Saturday’s Premier League match against Fulham, claims he is solely focussed on winning titles for the north-west side.

“I’m enjoying playing up front again and it’s nice to score,” he added. “But I just want to help the team get three points.

“Throughout my career I’ve always said I’m not concerned about how many goals I score, it’s more about whether the team wins. It is nice to score though and hopefully that can continue.”

You can listen to talkSPORT's exclusive national radio commentary of Fulham v Manchester United at 5:30pm on Saturday.

It could have cost us, thankfully it hasn’t, but now the groundsman can get it right in the next couple of weeks